Monday, November 24, 2008

Just in time for the holidays...MY LAST CONTEST OF 2008! Black Christmas (1974) is coming to Portland's Bagdad Theater this Saturday on glorious 35mm! Bob "A Christmas Story" Clark directed this seminal holiday horror flick and laid down the blueprint for the entire slasher genre. Archetypes such as the deranged maniac calling from inside the house, predator's point-of-view camera angles, psycho-sexual undertones, and subverted holiday themes were all popularized by Bob Clark's Black Christmas. This movie is genuinely creepy and holds up surprisingly well considering it is more than 30 years old. Fun fact? Distributors were afraid it would be confused for a blaxploitation flick so it was retitled Silent Night, Evil Night for dumb American audiences. It was a box office flop until they re-marketed it with its original title. It also features John Saxon so wear your denim and leather! The contest? Just post your name as a comment here and I will leave a pass for you at the theater. That's it. Santa is coming early this year. Happy Holidays, Gorehounds!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Here is Last Gasp founder Ron Turner's account of his recent visit to S. Clay Wilson in the hospital. As Turner suggests, S. Clay is slightly improved but still not out of the woods. Keep him in your thoughts...

Sun and warm air dropped over everyone's roof and head on Sunday. I kept the window rolled down as the full Alemany Flea Market appeared on my port side. No shopping for treasures today, I was going to say good bye to a friend of 36 years. S Clay Wilson's ventilator had been removed and it was expected that he would soon pass. Visiting ICU's is always a grim adventure. The ward is full of hope and folks hanging by one fingernail to our world. Wilson was napping and his hospital bed was inflating and deflating in a slow silent wave under him, keeping bed sores at bay. He had been cleaned up and was breathing quite well on his own. A brace on his ankle was switched daily to make sure his tendon did not deteriorate from lack of use and give him a drop-foot condition. He seemed peaceful napping. Lorraine and I began to say hello to him and he woke slowly, and batted open his eyes. The tube was now out of his head and the head had returned to almost normal size. A few scabs on his head and a two week beard growth were all that seemed different about Steve. We started giving him news and greetings from his friends. He turned his head to where Lorraine was standing and then back to me when I talked. I told him a bad joke and he responded not unlike most people I tell bad jokes to. He didn't change expression. He was able to cough a bit, and moved his legs several times. The oxygen absorption was at 100%. This was remarkable I thought. I touched his arm and told him that when he got better we would get him out of there. He responded with a facial expression that seemed to say: "what's stopping you". Paul Mavrides saw him today and confirmed that his attentiveness was much greater and that he was improved from last week. Wilson is not out of the woods by a long shot. Recovery will be a long time, but breathing on his own is a big step. He is able to hear people and some response is clear. They will have to move him soon and perhaps he can get into a facility like Laguna Honda which took care of Gary Arlington for a year and a half. Gary is now living by himself down by the ball park. I came to say goodbye to Wilson, but said see you later instead.

Friday, November 21, 2008

There were some good guesses but we now have our winners for the Dr. Butcher contest! And the answers? Snuff Maximus is the name on the tombstone during the opening credits. Salvador Dali is the famous artist whose likeness was swiped for the poster art. Check it out below. There will be one more contest in November so keep your eyes peeled for another chance to tickle your gray matter. See you Sunday night for DR. BUTCHER M.D. on 35mm at Portland, Goregon's Mission Theater! Show starts at 11pm. Get there early!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

"Do you know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby!And you're gonna die!"~Guns N Roses

Round Two, Gorehounds! I admit, the last contest was too easy so let's see if this one stumps any of you. Speaking of stumps, it is my profound pleasure to welcome one of the most maligned, misunderstood, and mutilated gore epics of all time to Portland's Mission Theater next Sunday November 23: Dr. Butcher M.D. (Medical Deviate, naturally)! Originally released in Europe as Zombie Holocaust and utilizing the sets, locations, co-producer, and cast of Lucio Fulci's Zombie, this glorious mindfuck of a film features cannibals, zombies, tits, maggots, eye gougings, disembowelments, Alexandra Delli Colli, tits, brain transplants, and of course, mad doctors. The film was distributed in America as Dr. Butcher M.D. and featured a hilarious publicity campaign that included vomit bags and real-life "doctors" displaying "victims" of Dr. Butcher's insane experiments! The American version of the film was itself butchered by Aquarius Releasing, presumably to appeal to yankee tastes, and included an opening sequence taken from Roy "Street Trash" Frumkes' unfinished 70's horror anthology Tales That'll Tear Your Heart Out that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film but features classic EC Comics imagery and enough fog machines to suffocate a cave full of SUNNO))) fans. So what exactly is the contest? There is a tombstone during this opening sequence that the camera lingers on for a moment. What is the name on that tombstone? Be the first to post your answer here as a comment and win 5 passes to Dr. Butcher M.D. at the Mission Theater on Sunday November 23! Extra question for the diehards: what famous artist's likeness was swiped for the American poster art? Answer correctly and I'll throw in a huge signed print of my 'Dark Crusades' drawing! Locals only, I ain't shipping the print. Good luck, Gorehounds!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

The invocation of Azmeroth is complete and November Fire can now announce the official re-issue of Sacrilege B.C.'s debut LP Party With God! Normally I would use expressions like "highly anticipated" to herald a killer release like this, but I don't think many people anticipated it. In fact I don't think many people have ever heard it. Which is a damn shame. And here's why:

Sacrilege B.C. descended upon the 1980's Bay Area thrash scene like a napalm death strike...and disappeared in a cloud of booze, dope, and brimstone just as their name was finally drawing international attention. Perhaps they were just too unbridled for the headbangers and too shredding for the punks (both guitarists were trained by Joe Satriani and they were known to encore with 'Love Gun' by Kiss). During the industry feeding-frenzy to sign the "next big thrash band" it was inevitable that this quintet of teen hellraisers out to have a good time would fly under the radar and, unlike many of their East Bay peers, Sacrilege B.C. was clearly unhindered by lofty musical career goals. They thank beer on the credits of their debut LP. Twice. Oddly enough, the raw energy and D.I.Y. approach that probably resulted in Sacrilege B.C.'s premature burial is exactly what has aged these songs so well and this reissue slides nicely into the annals of speed somewhere between Possessed and Cryptic Slaughter. Sacrilege B.C. initially emerged in 1983 with the hulking Strephon Taylor providing his unique rapid-fire rasp and Tim Howell swinging the 6-string axe (incidentally Strephon & Tim continue to jam together after all these years in their new band Slob). By 1984 they had recruited Matt Filmore on drums, Gary Wendt on guitar, and Musashi 'Moose' Lethridge on bass and this line-up recorded two demos before 'Moose' was replaced by Sean Smithson for the 1986 Party With God recording for Alchemy Records. They would soon be cursed to replace bass players in Spinal Tap fashion for the rest of their short-lived career. As if to further confuse their own legacy, they also unknowingly shared monikers with a certain band of English crust-thrashers who were rapidly gaining underground popularity. In an effort to assert their own identity they added 'B.C.' to their name- for 'Berkeley, California', among other inside jokes- but would ultimately be overshadowed and scarcely referenced as the other Sacrilege. With this re-issue Party With God finally emerges from obscurity as an overlooked mid-80's classic and a raging thrashterpiece that delivers in spades on the promise of TRUE metal/punk crossover! From the opening drum-roll belch of 'Azmeroth'’ this fucker grabs you by the flannel and doesn't let up until you're ‘Victimized' and dead on the floor! If you're not stagediving off the kitchen table by the second verse of 'Fun With Napalm' you should check your pulse and start listening to disco again. 'Skinned Alive' condemns cruel seal hunters to hell, an unusual stance for a bunch of beer-drooling delinquents, AND kicks speed metal ass with dueling squeal-like-a-pig solos. 'Judge Death' is a blitzkrieg rant that barely comes up for air during the skank breakdown before launching into a tongue-tying finale- and it's about Judge Death! And then there's the scream-along gang chorus of 'Death Toll' and moshpit-pleaser 'Crucified'. Party With God rips and it's about time these forgotten grenades of adolescent aggression were dusted off, re-mastered, and reintroduced to a new generation. No one is safe from the shrapnel spray that is Sacrilege B.C.! Let’s hear it for the other Sacrilege…~Dennis Dread (2008)

Friday, November 14, 2008

"You may bury my body down by the highway side, so my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride..."~Robert Johnson

S. Clay Wilson remains unconscious in the Intensive Care Unit nearly 2 weeks after being discovered face down in the pouring rain between two parked cars near San Francisco's Delores Heights. It is still unclear exactly what transpired in the hour or so between storming out of a friend's house that night and being found by two pedestrians who immediately called 911, but he was definitely very drunk and it looks as though he was severely beaten but not robbed. Regardless of the events, his brain is badly damaged and I'm just hoping he'll pull through somehow. It's a fucking tragedy to think he may never draw again. For more info keep your eyes on Steve Duin's latest reports for the Oregonian which feature rare images provided by underground art historian Patrick Rosenkranz.

Monday, November 10, 2008

S. Clay Wilson is unconscious and in intensive care at San Francisco General Hospital this week after suffering a severe brain injury last weekend. S. Clay's girlfriend Lorraine confirmed rumors that were circulating at Wordstock this weekend after fellow underground artist Spain Rodriguez announced that his long-time pal was not doing well. For any sad saps that don't already know, S. Clay Wilson is the undisputed Godfather of underground comix and the guy who single-handedly "liberated" Robert Crumb from the fetters of etiquette and lame self-censorship. Many of you will recognize his art from the cover of The Accused LP More Fun Than An Open Casket Funeral. S. Clay Wilson is also a tough bastard so we're all hoping he's just too stubborn to die. Any artist who has ever drawn a zombie, a demon, a pirate, or a perverse sexual act (and that's pretty much every slob reading this) owes a staggering debt to the subversive genius of S. Clay Wilson. Send your thoughts to the man this week. We're in your corner, S. Clay! Get well soon...

S. Clay Wilson at the APE Expo in San Francisco last weekend just hours before he was hospitalized. Photo courtesy Jim Blanchard.

Friday, November 07, 2008

I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't want Halloween to pass. And why should it? Why not celebrate the horrific all-year-round? In this macabre spirit I am launching THREE more spine-chilling CONTESTS this month! The first contest announces the arrival of A Nightmare On Elm Street to Portland's Bagdad Theater on glorious 35mm! This is arguably the most terrifying mainstream film of the 1980's and if you're under 30 you probably missed the opportunity to experience Freddy Krueger on the big screen before he degenerated into a lame franchise. Chas Balun hailed A Nightmare On Elm Street as a "violent, gory surreal thriller...a compelling treat for the conscientious horror afficianado." So here's the contest: what movie does Nancy watch on TV to try to stay awake? The first person to correctly answer this question wins 2 PASSES to A Nightmare On Elm Street on Saturday November 15th. Just post your answer here as a comment. Extra points for true horror nerds: why did Wes Craven reference this particular film in his movie? If you answer this extra question correctly I will personally buy your first beer. Good luck. And whatever you do...don't fall asleep!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Today is Bobby BeauSoleil's 61st birthday and I wish him all the best from outside the cold "Hallways of Always". Bobby has been in prison for murder since 1969 but there is much more to his legacy than mayhem and Manson. The definitive 4 LP boxed-set of Bobby's complete Lucifer Rising soundtrack is nearing completion. This has been an epic labor of love spanning many years and I am thrilled to herald this project's impending arrival. Expect updates soon from The Ajna Offensive. Happy Birthday, Bobby!

Monday, November 03, 2008

Hope everyone had a fun HallowThe outstanding underground writer Todd DePalma just posted a sprawling new interview with me at Left Hand Path webzine. We spent some time on this and I really like the way it turned out. Read it for yourself at Left Hand Path.